Those rumors about a PSP redesign turned out to be true–sorta. Demoed onstage at the Santa Monica E3 show by Sony’s Kaz Hirai, the new PSP doesn’t look all that different on the outside, but it’s said to be 33 percent lighter, 19 percent slimmer, offer better battery life, faster game load times, and video output to TVs.

Separately, the company will also bow PSPs in two new colors: “ice silver” and a Star Wars-themed white PSP emblazoned with Darth Vader’s visage. Both the colored PSPs will be available in “Entertainment Pack” versions for US$200 each–the silver model will include Daxter, a Family Guy “Freakin’ Sweet” UMD video collection, and a 1GB Memory Stick Duo, while the Star Wars version will include the new Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron game.

If you’re a gamer this is a great thing, but we still have to see it to make sure its a better product than now. We are really crazy about our Nintendo DS, but the graphics are sweet on the PSP – what we need is a big belt that can carry both of them around like an Old West gunfighter.